That's interesting to know. I had totally misunderstood the consequences of the Schengen agreement.

The only practical effect of the Schengen Accord is that British citizens must carry their passports in other EU countries, and other EU citizens must carry their passports in Britain.

The countries that are in the Schengen Accord do not require this - i.e. French people do not need to carry a French passport to get around in Germany.

That's really about it. Schengen should NOT be confused with the 1992 dropping of all internal movement and trade barriers within the EU. Britain has never had a problem with that 1992 act - other EU nationals are welcome to set up shop in Britain.

The main problem with Schengen, as far as Britain was concerned, was that the elimination of the requirement for people to carry and show proof of nationality made it too easy for illegal immigrants. It would be easy for a Eastern European illegal (and we have a LOT) to claim they were French for example. And if an illegal arrived in Britain off an airline originating in France, claiming to be French, then Britain would be obliged to let them in.

So, we still require passports for entry to Britain and we still require noncitizens to carry proof of nationality. It's because we are a magnet for illegals.

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